


What the Duck?

by Charlie Rose (Night_Owl6)



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Humor, M/M, Magical ducklings, Mama Q, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 10:29:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17641079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Night_Owl6/pseuds/Charlie%20Rose
Summary: Quentin stumbled upon a fuzzy yellow duckling in the woods.  Then he found two more in places that are definitely not where ducklings should be.  Now they think he is their mother and won't stop following him.  Umm help anyone?





	What the Duck?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back with another fluffy one-shot! I wrote this piece one night instead of sleeping. No ducklings were harmed in the making of this story. Enjoy! :)

Quentin groaned in frustration as the illumination spell he’d been practicing failed a sixth time.  He flipped through his books trying to figure out what he was doing wrong.  Eliot offered to tutor him, but his stupid pride had prevented him from accepting his boyfriend’s help.  For now, he was stuck in the woods by the cottage alone and after two hours, with nothing to show for it.  After carefully studying the exact hand motions, he prepped himself to start again. 

A soft chirp sounded from behind him, but he brushed it off thinking it was just his imagination.  Quentin finally managed a quick spark of light between his fingers when the chirping restarted.  Only this time, it was much louder and sounded distressed.  Being a naturally curious person and an avid animal lover, he went in search of the animal in case it needed help.

Following the noises, he reached a small clearing when they abruptly stopped. He looked around, but no animals were visible. Shrugging he went to turn around when the chirping started again and a flash of yellow, in his peripheral view, caught his attention.  Jogging over to investigate,  Quentin found a small duckling who had gotten itself trapped in a shallow ditch, unable to escape.

“Hey there little fella, how did you end up in here.”  He carefully extracted the struggling duckling from the ditch.  He could feel the poor animal shaking in his hands.  Stroking its soft feathers, he could feel the duckling calming down.  Quentin reached into his pocket for the breakfast bar he’d forgotten to eat.  He pulled off a small piece and fed it to the little duck. 

“There much better.  Hmm I wonder where your mama is.” Quentin placed the duckling onto the ground and it quickly waddled off.  He filled in the ditch for safety in case the duckling ever came back. Satisfied with his impromptu animal rescue, he went back to practicing magic, thankfully with greater success.

A week later, Quentin was in the library looking for a book Alice recommended on phosphoromancy.  It felt like déjà vu, when he suddenly heard a familiar chirp coming from behind him.  Turning he couldn’t believe his eyes as a duckling, identical to the one before, stood perched on the bookshelf behind him. 

“What the hell?”  The confused animal took a step forward only to plunge quickly to the ground.  Quentin dashed forward and managed to catch the young bird right before it hit the floor.  The duckling ruffled its feathers and settled into his hands as though its near death experience was nothing.

Another peep sounded and Quentin peered upward only to see another fuzzy yellow duckling walking precariously along the edge of the bookshelf. “There’s more of you?!”

Duckling number two turned its little head toward Quentin and upon seeing its sibling, leapt off the shelf flapping its wings uselessly. Quentin reached out a hand and with a quick spell he learned from Eliot he was able to cast a magical net that caught the duck.

Quentin held the ducklings up to his face looking them in the eyes.  “No more jumping off of things. That’s very dangerous.  How did you guys even get up there? Why am I talking to you? It’s not like you can understand me.” 

Quentin tucked the ducklings into the pocket of his hoodie and left the library determined to bring them back to where they belonged.  Arriving in the clearing where he originally found the first one, he put the two baby ducks onto the ground.  He then gathered up some twigs, grass, and leaves and formed a makeshift nest for the fuzz balls. 

“There, now you have a home, so stay here.” Quentin adjusted a few twigs to make sure they both fit comfortably. “Bye ducklings. Be good!” He called over his shoulder as he left them once more, hoping their mother would come back to watch over her babies.

* * *

 One day.  One day was all Quentin got before his third encounter with the mysterious ducklings. This encounter occurred in the middle of his potion’s lab, which to his unending amusement, was just like how he imagined it to be at Hogwarts.  He was just about to add an extremely volatile solvent to his cauldron, when a string of peeps and chirps emanated from inside.  

Quentin plucked the duckling out of the cauldron and checked it over for any injuries. “What did I tell you last time about being safe? That certainly isn’t safe!” 

Quentin relocated the wayward duckling into his messenger bag casting a small ward around to keep it from escaping.  The second the lab was over, Quentin sprang from his chair and bolted to his room to gather some supplies.  Walking back to the nest, he was shocked to see the two ducklings padding around the clearing chasing small bugs. 

"There are three of you now!? Please tell me some asshole isn’t stealing you guys away from your families as a prank.”  He cried out in anger.

The other two ducklings waddled over to him chirping excitedly.  “Nice to see you too.” Quentin laughed sitting down onto the ground next to their nest. Pulling out a length of string from his bag, he cut it into thirds and charmed the pieces into different colors.  He wrapped a colored string around each of the duckling’s legs delicately so he could identify each one individually.

He then brought out a shallow bowl he borrowed from the kitchen and enlarged it before filling it with water.  “There now you guys can practice swimming and stay hydrated.” He explained to the ducklings as they came over to inspect it.

With one more quick spell he summoned a small pile of insects for them to snack on for when they get hungry.  Finally happy with the set up, he wrapped a few simple wards around the clearing to protect them from any humans that wish them harm.  Before he left, he watched for a few minutes laughing as they started to splash around in the water.

Two days passed and Quentin’s thoughts had often drifted to the ducklings he had grown to care about, hoping they were okay.  One morning he woke up gasping terrified from a nightmare featuring feathers and blood and suppressed the urge to go check on them.  He groaned seeing it was only 6 a.m. knowing he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep.  He begrudgingly left his warm bed and headed into the bathroom for a quick shower.

The warm water cascaded over Quentin’s tense muscles and he felt himself relax.  Thinking about the last time he took a shower with Eliot, sent a spark of interest to his southern regions. Quentin was just about to lose himself to his fantasy, when he heard a loud noise coming from below.

“Chirp. Chirp. Chirp!”  Quentin screamed and slipped on the wet surface, collapsing hard on the shower floor.  The innocent duckling waddled up to him and pecked him on the foot, as though asking if he was okay. 

“Wha-What?!”  Quentin turned off the water and covered himself in a robe that Eliot left behind.

Quentin had enough!  Now he was fully angered by the nameless magician who kept putting his ducklings at risk.  Picking up the stray duckling he stormed off into his room.  He got dressed and collected a large empty box from his closet and placed the baby duck inside.  Quentin marched all the way to the clearing and packed up their little home along with the other two ducklings.  The three remained surprisingly quiet during this time, probably aware of his mood. 

Quentin hiked a mile or so deeper into the woods ranting about “stupid magicians who only think about themselves and don’t give a crap about putting innocent animals at risk.”

Quentin found a lovely little spot for their new home right next to a lake that even has a few other ducks already in it.  He replicates their original set up and sets even stronger wards around them. 

“There’s no way anyone can bother you now. Don’t worry you’re safe here.”  Quentin stayed with them for another hour, fussing with the placement of their nest wanting everything to be perfect.  With a heavy heart he gave each duckling a little pat goodbye and made his way back home.

Quentin spent the rest of the day in a woeful mood, one that his partner noticed. 

“Hey Q, what’s going on with you?”  Eliot made them dinner that night but despite being one of Quentin’s favorites, he’d barely touched his plate.

“Nothing, I’m just being silly.” Quentin reached out and grabbed Eliot’s hand.  “How’s that project you’ve been working on love?”

Eliot took the hint that Quentin didn’t want to talk and begun explaining the complexities of the spell he’d been researching. Their meal went smoother after that and they spent a lovely evening together cuddled in the small nook by the window.

* * *

‘ _Something isn’t right_.’ Those were the first thoughts that crossed Quentin’s mind, when he woke up the next morning.  He could feel something, or rather three somethings, moving around in his bed.  Slowly opening his eyes, he looked down and saw little yellow fluff balls walking around his bed. 

“Hi?” The ducklings chirped excitedly and waddled closer to his face, tripping often on the uneven surface.  He stroked each one gently, pondering what to do next.  It became clear to Quentin that this probably wasn’t the work of a magician. 

Quentin got ready for class, setting a small bowl of water and bread on the floor in case they got thirsty or hungry.  Before he left, he made sure he locked his door so no one would disturb the ducklings.  He had traveled a mere 20ft from the front door when a soft pop echoed behind him. 

“Peep. Chirp. Chirp. Peep.”

Groaning he turned around to see his ducklings following closely behind him. “Magical ducklings….sure okay. Why not?”

The rest of the day, Quentin was plagued by three yellow shadows who refused to leave his side.  Several times he had even tried to trick the ducklings to make an escape, but they always popped up again.  Appearing out of nowhere following him behind locked doors and wards.  Quentin was out of his depth and realized he needed to consult his boyfriend on what to do next.  He found Eliot lounging under a tree levitating leaves around in lazy patterns above his head.

“Q, there are ducklings following you.” Eliot gawked at the small flock following his boyfriend.

“Yes, that’s why I’m here.  I need your help! They’ve been appearing around me randomly over the last two weeks.  I can’t keep them away! I thought this was a prank by a magician but now they refuse to leave my side.  I…I think they’re magical. They keep popping up around me. Like literally popping up.”

Quentin paced back an forth rambling about the ducklings.  Eliot had to stifle a laugh as he watched the ducklings pacing along with the agitated man.

“Really, two weeks? How did I not notice?”

“Well you’re usually too busy trying to get in my pants.” Quentin smirked laughing as Eliot stood and sauntered over.

“Can you blame me?”  Eliot cupped Quentin’s firm backside in his hands.

“Chirp!” The two broke apart, glancing down at the indignant duckling.

“Q, it’s glaring at me.” 

“Right, well come on.”  Quentin, reminded of his original mission, grabbed Eliot’s hand and strode off.  The trail of ducklings caught the attention of many of the other students who cooed at the adorable sight.

Quentin stayed outside with the ducklings as Eliot searched the library for a book on the magical beings Quentin accidentally found.  He was shocked when the library actually had the information they needed but brought it out to Q and his entourage.

“Okay so it turns out that these ducklings are a magical breed that can teleport themselves anywhere.  They test certain humans to evaluate their care-giving skills, often putting themselves in life or death situations to ensure they find the best.  These ducks can stay in their adolescent form indefinitely depending on the species.”  Eliot read aloud from the thin book.

“They chose me?!” Quentin yelled exasperated.

“Welcome to parenthood Mommy.” Eliot laughed boisterously.  He leaned over to give a stunned Quentin a kiss.

“Wouldn’t I be the Daddy?” Quentin pouted.

“Please, if anyone’s a Daddy here it’s me Q.” Eliot gave Quentin a wink before leaving for his next class.

Quentin stared down at the ducklings in his lap, who gazed back at him with their little eyes. “Well guys, I think it’s time we call in the experts.”

A short while later, he and the ducklings were standing in Professor Lipson’s office as she examined them meticulously. Holding up a blue tinted piece of glass, she focused on the invisible lines that linked Quentin to each of the young ducks. 

“Yup. You guys are bonded.”

“Can you sever the bond?” Quentin asked desperately.

“Well the only way I know is to…well you know.”  Quentin watched horrified as she motioned breaking something in half with her hands.

Outraged for his duckies, he stood in front of them protecting them from his professor. ‘ _Wait no they aren’t_ my _duckies._ ’ Shaking off the thoughts, he attempted a different approach.

“Can’t you do something that won’t hurt them. Like, oh I don’t know, maybe handing over the bonds to someone else?”

“I’m afraid not Mr. Coldwater.  This type of magic is old magic and can’t be broken without heavy consequences.”

“You mean, death?” He whispered the last word, not wanting the ducklings to overhear. She nodded her head and went back to her paperwork, dismissing Quentin. He stood in the middle of the hallway as the ducklings twittered away exploring the corridor.

“Now what?”

* * *

“No Tyler.  You can’t eat my textbook. I’m trying to study.” Quentin gently scolded the misbehaving duckling.

Back in his room Quentin sat at his desk, resigned to the fact he was now the caregiver of the three young ducklings.  He had spent the last couple of hours duck-proofing his room and set up an elaborate area for them to play in.

“Q, who are you talking to?”  Quentin turned his head and saw Eliot in the doorway, wide eyed as he took in the changes to Quentin’s room.

“The duckies.”

“The duckies?” Eliot sneered the word the way most people would say chlamydia or gonorrhea.

“Tyler! What did I just tell you?” The stubborn duckling managed to rip the corner of the page he was reading.  Quentin sighed and closed the book . “He’s only doing that because he wants attention.”

“You named them?!”  Eliot asked incredulously.

“Of course! I couldn’t just call them “the ducklings.” They deserve proper names.”

Eliot walked into the room and pressed the back of his hand against Quentin’s forehead. “Hmm...no you’re not sick. Maybe this is the early stages of dementia?”

“Shut up, I’m fine El- No Alex! That is not the potty, we’ve been over this.”  Quentin pointed to a corner in his room.  The little duck chirped sadly and waddled over to the designated area that he had created to dispel waste products and remove any odors.

Eliot sat on Quentin’s bed, completely baffled by that fact that Quentin had apparently potty trained his ducks.

“Why are they still here?”

“They bonded with me and the only way to sever the connection is death! I refuse to let any harm come to my duckies El. They need me.” Quentin looked at Eliot earnestly, his big eyes wide and pleading.  Eliot’s remark was cut off as he was momentarily distracted by a sudden weight on his head.

“Oh, there you are Sofie! I was worried.”

Eliot’s mind swirled with the billons of questions he had for his boyfriend, as he tried to process the idea that Quentin really was the duckling’s mother now.

“Okay. Why did you- Can’t you just- How do you tell if they are a boy or girl?”

Quentin gestured to a small stack of books he left on his nightstand. “Well according to the books it’s hard to tell at this age, but I think Sofie is a girl.  She is very loud and has these distinct chirps, which the book says is indicative of females. She’s also the smallest one.”

As if to make a point, Sofie chirped loudly from her spot-on Eliot’s head, and pecked his hand when he tried to remove her. Quentin smiled warmly at her and continued his discussion.

“Tyler is most likely male because he’s the biggest and has wider legs.  Alex  I’m not to sure about so I wanted to give that duckling a gender-neutral name so I don’t hurt their feelings.”

“Right, well as…enlightening as this as been. I promised I’d help Margo pick an outfit out for her date.  I’ll see you later?” Eliot loved Quentin but he really needed to stop springing these things on him.

“Of course!”  Eliot placed Sofie onto the pillow and gave Quentin a quick kiss goodbye.  As he closed Quentin’s door, El heard him scolding the duck once more.

“Okay stop eating my things Ty! You have my full attention now you spoiled duck.”

After helping Margo, Eliot walked into his room only to find Sofie resting on his bed.

“Um…Shoo?”  The duckling only cocked her head and shuffled getting more comfortable.

“Do you have any idea how expensive those sheets are?”

“Chirp. Peep. Chirp.”

“Exactly. So I’d appreciate if you would kindly not shit all over them. Oh god. I’m actually talking to a duck.” Eliot groaned internally blaming Q.

“Chirp.

* * *

 "Your mommy is very special you know.”  Eliot was propped against his headboard, with Sofie safe on his head nestled into his curls.  “He will spoil you rotten and love you unconditionally. That’s just the kind of man he is. I think he could be it for me…don’t tell him I said that.”

“Chirp. Chirp. Peep.”

“I knew I could count on you to keep a secret.”

“ELIOT!!”  Quentin’s panicked voice shouted from down the hall.  Eliot could hear the thundering of his feet as he stormed through the cottage and burst into the room. “Have you seen Sofie?! She’s been missing for an hour and I can’t find her anywhere! She could be hurt or lost or—”

The image of Eliot and Sofie resting on Eliot’s bed caused Quentin to stop short, the other ducklings bumping into his legs. A small smile illuminated his face and he went over and kissed Eliot deeply, careful of the duck on his head.

“Sofie isn’t so bad I guess.” Eliot said coyly.

“You loooove them. Well at least Sofie. Don’t you?”  Quentin declared smugly.

“Sofie just gets me. Alex and Tyler are cute too.” Eliot chuckled watching Sofie pop off his head and curl up with her siblings in one of Eliot’s scarfs. “Anyway, I can’t let you raise them on your own.”

Quentin pulled Eliot in for a passionate kiss, in awe of his partners compassion and willingness to help him with his— no _their_ duckies. Eliot flipped them over, straddling Quentin’s hips and grinding down, causing them both to let out low moans.

“We can’t. The duckies are right there!” Quentin protested breathlessly.

“There asleep besides…” Eliot trailed off, his voice deep and seductive. “I want to show you that I can be a spectacular Daddy.”


End file.
